Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 15 formal bilateral meetings with the heads of state of different countries in three days during the BRICS Summit held in New Delhi. Apart from this, he also held unofficial talks with many global leaders and heads of international institutions. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) gave this information on Sunday.
India hosted the 18th edition at the Bharat Mandapam on 12 and 13 September. brix Hosted the summit. This time the theme of the conference was ‘Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. A total of 17 delegations along with 13 global leaders reached New Delhi for the conference.
Modi’s important meeting with Putin
PM Modi’s diplomatic program started with talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was the second meeting of the two leaders in less than a month. Earlier on August 31, both the leaders had met during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek.
In the Modi-Putin meeting, cooperation in the fields of defence, energy, nuclear energy and critical minerals was reviewed. The two leaders also discussed the target of increasing bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.
Defense sector talks included issues like delivery of the fifth regiment of S-400 air defense system, upgrade of BrahMos missile system and possible supply of RVV-BD long-range air-to-air missiles. The two sides also talked about reducing trade imbalance, increasing the movement of Indian skilled workers to Russia and increasing cooperation in fertilizer, steel and railway supply chains.
Discussion on Chabahar and energy security with Iranian President
Prime Minister Modi also met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. This was his first visit to India after becoming President. The two leaders met at a time when there are concerns about the conflict related to Iran and the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for global energy supplies.
PM Modi once again reiterated India’s point of resolving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy. The two leaders also discussed Chabahar port, regional connectivity and the impact of the conflict on trade and energy security.
The Prime Minister also spoke to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres. During this, the ongoing conflicts in the world, reforms in multilateral institutions and issues related to developing countries were discussed.
Jinping came to India after seven years
Saturday saw the busiest phase of PM Modi’s bilateral meetings. He met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
After this, in the evening an important meeting took place between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Jinping had reached India after about seven years. Earlier, he had come to India in October 2019 for an informal summit with PM Modi in Mamallapuram. According to the Foreign Ministry, Modi and Jinping welcomed the gradual improvement in India-China relations. Both the leaders agreed that India and China should move forward as partners instead of rivals.
However, PM Modi made it clear that peace and stability on the border is necessary to continuously advance bilateral relations. There were also discussions between the two leaders on trade, market access, supply chain and increasing the movement of citizens of the two countries.
Also read: CMs of non-BJP ruled states did not attend BRICS gala dinner, invitation was sent
India’s emphasis on Global South
The series of meetings of the Prime Minister continued on Sunday also. He met Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Kazakhstan is also currently presiding over the Eurasian Economic Union. PM Modi also interacted with leaders and representatives of Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Burundi, Nigeria and Uganda. In the talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, there was a special emphasis on the priorities of the Global South along with bilateral cooperation.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the top leadership of Saudi Arabia did not participate in the summit. Both countries were represented by their foreign ministers.
India took forward its agenda from the platform of BRICS
Apart from formal bilateral meetings, PM Modi also held small informal talks with many leaders and representatives of international organizations. He also interacted with officials of the New Development Bank and participants of the BRICS Business Forum. India used its BRICS presidency to advance bilateral interests with individual countries as well as raise major issues related to the Global South.
New Delhi advocated strong and flexible supply chains, greater use of local currencies in international trade and reform of global institutions to provide greater representation to developing countries.
Through these meetings, Prime Minister Modi also put forward India’s stand on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. India reiterated its policy of reducing tensions and returning to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
The 15 formal bilateral meetings and several informal interactions over three days during the BRICS summit also showed that India used this global platform to push for concrete bilateral outcomes along with the collective agenda of BRICS.
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